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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23173456">A Different Kind of Brave</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineWords/pseuds/ImagineWords'>ImagineWords</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure, Found Family, Future Gen, Gen, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff, and her struggle to become part of a family, ft. an orphan klepto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 14:35:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,398</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23173456</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineWords/pseuds/ImagineWords</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cara Brock is a young Muggleborn who hasn't had very many breaks in her life. Then she dives head first into the weirdest world she could never have imagined by accepting a letter to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she is sorted into Hufflepuff and proceeds to be a wrecking ball to a school where age old house prejudices still exist. [OC nearly all the way, set after NextGen have left.]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Different Kind of Brave</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Please note that this is an on-going story with no official release schedule! I began writing this as a teen and since then I've grown up (sort of, I still abide that growing up all the way is bad idea™) &amp; so have had little time to give this story the time it deserves! Occasionally Cara returns to me demanding I write more about her and her Hogwarts shenanigans in which case, a new chapter will miraculously appear!</p><p>Still, I do hope you enjoy it and would strongly rec bookmarking it so you're always ready for when the newest chapter drops! in the meanwhile, enjoy this small &amp; important part of my writing past.</p><p>NOTE: This work was orphaned due to a technical error but I've had no reply from AO3 to somehow fix or get that one back. If anyone knows anything that can help please do let me know! Meanwhile I'll be reposting this as a new story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cara skidded around the corner, her tattered converse finding it hard to find a good grip on the slippery surface. She could hear her pursuers gaining on her, their feet pounding the floor, faster than she was. She leapt over a homeless man huddled in the alleyway she was sprinting down. Some of kids running after her weren’t as lucky as she heard bodies hit the floor. Cara dared a quick look back, dismayed to find there were still three of them racing after her. She hurtled around another corner, then immediately regretted it. Looming at the end of the alleyway; blocking her exit; was a tall fence. She considered climbing it but the chain links were too tightly packed for a good foothold. She came to a halt and turned, planning to take another route. But the boys who’d been racing after her had caught up and were blocking the entrance. The one in front grinned, showing off his unpleasant yellow teeth.</p><p>“Go nowhere to run now ‘av ya,” he sneered.</p><p>“I haven’t stolen nothing from you,” Cara tried, but he was having none of it and signalled his friends to advance on her. Cara shrugged inwardly; it had been worth a try. Turning, she sent a quick prayer up to whomever or whatever was listening then began charging towards the fence. The boys hadn’t expected her to do something so ridiculous and so for a moment they paused, confused. It gave Cara a head-start and she was at the fence with plenty of distance put between herself and them. Then, she jumped. She was too short, and the fence was definitely too tall, but somehow her hands managed to grab onto the top of the fence.</p><p>“No way…” one of the boys muttered.</p><p>She wasn’t quite sure how she did it, but somehow, Cara managed to spin herself over the fence and landed safely on the other side. The group ran to the fence, the oldest one’s face looking supremely pissed off. Cara couldn’t help herself; she dug her hands into her coat pocket and pulled out the three iPhones she’d stolen from them and laughed as she waved them in front of their faces.</p><p>“Looking for these?” she grinned, then turned tail and ran. The oldest boy shoved one of his friends out of the way and kicked angrily at the fence. It hurt his toe, which only served to make him even more annoyed.</p><p>“How the ‘ell did she jump this?” he muttered, to no one in particular.</p><p>Ten minutes away, Cara had let herself into the abandoned house she was squatting in. She searched around for the seventeen-year-old whose name she didn’t know, but who she knew would pay good money for the stolen phones. The teenager wasn’t there though, so Cara made her way past a bunch of other children and teens to her spot in the corner of the living room, underneath the bookshelves, beside the broken sofa. She made sure no one was looking her way, then furtively slipped the phones into a broken part of the wall behind the sofa, moving the wallpaper back in place. She couldn’t let anyone steal them; they were going to keep her living a while longer.</p><p>The people who were currently living here kept themselves to themselves and Cara had nothing better to do whilst she waited to get her money, so once she had sorted her area out, she made her way back outside and sat on a low wall beside the run down park. Some kids from the local estate were already there, playing on the slide, which was the only thing not yet broken. It was late July and the weather was far too warm for the heavy coat Cara had on. But it was one of her most valuable pieces of clothing, and the only thing she currently wore that she had actually paid for. She didn’t want to leave it unattended for fear someone would take it. She pulled it off now though, folding it carefully then tucked it underneath her, fanning herself with her hand. Her t-shirt was sticking to her; the run from the gang of teen boys she’d stolen from had made her all hot and sweaty. Cara made a mental note to hit the local gym showers once she had funds. The house she was staying in had a shower too, but the residents didn’t really like to clean after themselves and Cara found it too gross to use.</p><p>She’d been staring off into the distance so hadn’t noticed the old man walking towards her until he was right beside her. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he looked harmless, his eyes were warm and smiling. He looked like he could be any old grandfather, except that his choice of dress was downright weird. He must’ve been a homeless, because normal people didn’t match up clothing the way he had. On his feet were walking boots, his trousers were normal enough but then he had on what looked like a striped pyjama top and above that, a suit blazer. Cara was even more confused when she took a closer look and recognised the logo on the jacket. The blazer was designer. More than that, she knew how much it cost, more money than she could envisage.</p><p>“Is it alright if I have a quick word with you?” the strange man asked, smiling. Cara didn’t really want to, but she decided to humour him. Maybe if she got him distracted, she could see whether he had anything good tucked away in his expensive pockets and run.</p><p>“Sure,” she answered, and gave him a half smile back.</p><p>“Your name is Cara Brock?” he asked and Cara immediately threw up her guard, tensing up, eyes narrowed.</p><p>“How do you know my name?” she asked forcefully, “are you from social?” she added.</p><p>The man’s eye’s crinkled and he shook his head. “I’m a teacher. I’m here to tell you about coming to my school.”</p><p>Cara didn’t feel any better about that answer.</p><p>“I’m not going to no school. They’ll put me in a Home. Anyway, how’d you even find me?”</p><p>“The school I teach at isn’t like an ordinary school. We have ways of locating children like you.”</p><p>“Locating children like me? What does that mean?” Cara asked scowling.</p><p>“You’re not like these other people, who we call Muggles. You’re a witch Cara.”</p><p>Cara couldn’t help it, she laughed, “Is that meant to be an insult?” Then she noticed that the man looked deadly serious, which only made her laugh harder.</p><p>“My god, you actually believe what you’re saying. Do I look like a green skinned hag to you?” she shook her head in disbelief.</p><p>“That’s just a Muggle invention. We don’t look any different to anyone else, but we are. We have the ability to use magic. I teach at a school called Hogwarts, where we teach you how to use it.”</p><p>Cara’s looked at him incredulously. “You’re crazy. Muggle? Hogwarts? What kind of made up crap is this? Have you taken something?” she asked shrewdly. Some of the teenagers in the house she squatted in took drugs, and their hallucinations certainly weren’t very normal.</p><p>The old man didn’t answer her. Instead he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope, which he held out for her. Cara wasn’t quite sure why she didn’t just turn around and leave this mad man but something was holding her in place. Perhaps it was this man's conviction that he was talking sense, enough that he’d even gone to the trouble to provide apparent ‘proof’.</p><p>She took the envelope; it was heavier than she expected and made out of a weird parchment type material. It wasn’t sealed the usual way, but instead had an old-fashioned wax seal, with some type of crest in the red. She turned it over, and almost dropped the envelope in shock.</p><p>
  <em>Miss C. Brock<br/>
Corner of the Living Room Behind the Broken Sofa<br/>
65 Angels Close<br/>
Brixton<br/>
London</em>
</p><p>“What the hell…” she said slowly, under her breath. How on earth could this random old man know where she lived so precisely? She tore the envelope open, 2 sheets of the same parchment paper as the envelope fell out. One seemed to be some kind of list but Cara ignored that and focused on the one that was addressed to her.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Miss Brock,<br/>
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.<br/>
Yours sincerely,<br/>
Bruce Bones<br/>
Deputy Headmaster</em>
</p><p>She looked at the other letter, and found it was indeed a list of equipment. But it wasn’t anything that could be found on a normal school list and instead listed things such a cauldron, a pointed hat, a book of ‘standard’ spells and a <em>wand</em>. It wasn’t until she looked up at the old man, who had been standing by silently as she read the envelope and its contents, that she realised her mouth was open, and quickly closed it.</p><p>“You tried hard, I’ll give you that,” she said, shaking the papers she held in her hand. “And I have no idea how you know so much about who I am and where I live, but there is no way this crap is true. It’s some stupid trick and I’m not falling for it.”</p><p>The old man looked sad. “Have you never done things you can’t explain? Strange things that have happened to you that seem out of the ordinary?”</p><p>Cara’s mind immediately went to only a couple of hours earlier, when she had scaled that tall fence with such ease. Then she shook her head. Flukes happened. It didn’t have an explanation as crazy as magic.</p><p>“We’re done here.” Cara said firmly, jumping off the wall. She pulled on her coat and shoved the papers into her pocket. “Go bother someone else. And stay away from me.”</p><p>“I can’t show you proof here, there are too many Muggles around. But I’m not lying Cara. You are a witch and Hogwarts is a real place.” He pulled another piece of paper from his pocket and held it out to her.</p><p>“This is a map which leads to a place called Diagon Alley. You’ll be able to buy everything on the school list there. I’ll send off an owl telling our Headmistress you’ll be attending. I hope you do dear.”</p><p>His sincerity and her own curiosity got the better of her and Cara grabbed the map from him. But she still couldn’t believe what he said. It sounded too far-fetched for a person like her, who’d grown up being untrusting and a harsh sceptic. She strode away from him, not bothering to say anything. She walked in the opposite direction to where she lived in-case he followed her. She’d only taken a few steps when she realised this was pointless. He already knew exactly where she lived. She turned around to take a last look at him, but to her surprise and disconcertment, he’d vanished. She turned her head left and right, but he was nowhere to be seen. Frowning she carried on walking, head down, hands in her pockets, her right one curled around the papers she’d been given.</p><p>Cara spent a good half an hour walking before she returned to her squat. The entire time, the only thought that had been in her head was a determination to not believe a single word of what she’d just been told. But his sincerity… he hadn’t really seemed mad at all. But then Cara thought about his mismatched clothing, the jacket that was probably stolen, talk of magic and witches. It couldn’t be real. It simply couldn’t be.</p><p>The teenager Cara had been looking for earlier had returned and Cara quickly pulled the phones from her hiding spot and went over to the seventeen-year-old. The girl looked impressed as she examined each one and passed them to her friends.</p><p>“These are in good shape. Don’t look like they’ve been handled very much at all. Where’d you get ‘em?”</p><p>Cara shrugged, best not to give away her sources, other kids were listening in.</p><p>“I’ll give you two-hundred for them.”</p><p>Cara snorted. “No way, that’s three iPhones you have there. Worth five-hundred at least.”</p><p>“Yeah, but they’re also outdated models, two hundred pounds then.”</p><p>“Four-fifty.” Cara countered and the older girl smiled, but her eyes glittered dangerously.</p><p>“You drive a hard bargain kid. “Three-hundred and fifty pounds, take it or leave it.”</p><p>Cara decided to take it. She didn’t want to push the teenager, who had a dangerous temper that Cara had once witnessed her take out on another one of the kids. It hadn’t been pretty. The girl nodded to one of her friends who counted out the agreed amount in cash and handed it over to Cara. She watched the other people in the room, who were eyeing her newly acquired money with obvious longing. Cara made eye contact with all of them as she clutched the cash in her hands, her eyes narrowed and her lips set in a slight scowl. Her message was clear. That money was hers and there would be trouble from anyone who tried to take it. Cara had lived rough for a lot longer than a lot of the kids and teenagers in this place and she knew how to handle herself. She made her way back to her corner. She placed the money in her coat pockets instead of her hiding place because a lot of people were still watching her. As she did her hands brushed past the papers the old man had given her earlier. She had momentarily forgotten about them and gazed at the acceptance letter without really reading it.</p><p>Cara had spent her entire life in relative poverty and squalor. If she was supposedly magical, then all those times terrible things had happened, shouldn’t she have been able to get out of them? Conjure food when she was starving, keep warm when she was freezing, take a bath when she was filthy. But of course, she couldn’t, because magic didn’t exist. It didn’t. It just couldn’t.</p>
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